Warriors of the TARDIS
by OkamiWolvesForever
Summary: Clara wanted to go somewhere... Quiet. But that's not an option. The Doctor and Clara are thrown into a strange world they'd never heard of before. The world of Warriors. (Possibly a hint of Whoufflé - depends on what you guys want I guess. Or if I just get too crazy and absolutely HAVE to ship them). Me and my fangirl self. *sigh*
1. The Start of an Epic Journey

**A crossover of Doctor Who and Warriors. If you'd like to hear the story of how I was inspired to make this, read the bold. If you'd like to skip ahead and just start reading, then go for it! Anyway, here's how I was inspired to make this story: So one day I was going with my friend down to a creek by her house to go swimming. As we walked towards the creek, my friend started going on about how maybe she'd she a cat called Clara, and she explained how she hadn't seen the cat in a while. She suddenly spotted the cat, which was in another person's yard. She didn't really care 'cause she, like, **_**really **_**wanted to see the cat. She came back saying "Oh my gosh, Clara's pregnant," and I just kinda dismissed it. When we came back from the creek, she started looking for Clara again. That's when it hit me: Clara? From **_**DOCTOR WHO?!**__**AHHHHH!**_** Then I was like: Wait, what?! Clara's pregnant? HUH? Then I said to my friend: "Wait, what if it was Clara from DW?" I waited for it to sink in, and I laughed when she got the joke. So, yeah, my thoughts about this were: Clara always had a good relationship with the Doctor so... Yeah, freaky. So anyway this is just a weird crossover for DW and Warriors! Enjoy! (Clara will NOT be pregnant in this... that would be very scary... but I might pair them. And yes, I know Peter Capaldi is the new Doctor but Matt Smith was ALWAYS awesome so I'm using him :P) Also, I do not own Doctor Who or Warriors.**

"Hullo, Clara," said the Doctor, not looking up from his book as Clara quitely closed the doors to the TARDIS.

She smiled. "Hey. What's the plan for today?"

He returned the smile. "You're the boss, you pick where we go. Unless the TARDIS or I disapprove," he said, returning to his reading.

Clara thought for a moment. "How about somewhere... quiet. As much as I love extraterrestrial life, I think we should just go somewhere quiet."

He looked up from his book. "That's fine. Not meaning to be nosey, but is there a reason you want to go somewhere quiet?"

"Um... No," she said hesitantly.

"You hesitated."

"No I didn't!" She sighed. "Just... Nevermind."

The Doctor stood up, setting his book on the steps. He straightened his bow tie and smiled. He walked up to the console. "Now then, somewhere _quiet_," he whispered, shooting a glance at Clara. She shot daggers at him with her eyes. He flipped a few buttons, making his way towards the lever that when pulled sent the TARDIS on its way.

"So where are we going?" Clara asked.

"Somewhere quiet," he responded, and went to pull the lever. As soon as he pulled it, however, the TARDIS started shuddering. It seemed to flip sideways, throwing the Doctor and Clara at the railing.

"What's going on?!" Clara screamed over the noise of the TARDIS shuddering and groaning.

"Apparently the TARDIS doesn't approve!" Shouted the Doctor. With that, a blinding light flashed through the TARDIS and they were both knocked unconscious.

**Author's Note: Sorry this chapter was so short. I promise the next chapter will be longer. It's just that this seemed to be the perfect place to start another chapter, so... It's more like a prologue anyway. Also, special thanks to my friend who is giving me ideas for this and was the one who inspired me to make this.**


	2. Cats?

The Doctor groaned. He tried to sit up, and the first thing he realized was that he was no longer in the TARDIS, he was on a moor. The second thing he realized was that Clara had landed on top of him.

"What...?" Clara moaned, sitting up. She noticed she was on the Doctor, and quickly jumped off of him, landing gracefully on all four paws. Wait, paws? _Paws? How can I have paws? _She thought frantically. She glanced at the Doctor, gasping as she took in his image. His image was of a cat. He was light brown with tan on his paws, chest and belly, and he had grey stripes on his side.

The Doctor took no notice of his being a cat, until he glanced at Clara to give her a "Thank you for getting off me", and instead seeing a felidae that was light grey in color with white paws. He walked up to the cat, noticing that he seemed to be around the same height as the cat. Maybe they were just giant cats from some new planet. Well... maybe he was at _that_ planet... where all the giant cats had attacked him for examining the giant squirrels they had caught. "Hello, cat. Have you seen my companion, Clara? She's, uh, fiesty and-"

The strange cat stopped him mid-sentence. "Doctor, it's me, Clara! Please tell me why we're cats!" She mewed.

_Cats? We're? We're cats?! _He thought, looking down. Sure enough, he had paws. He spun around in a circle, spotting his tail. But... "I'M STILL NOT GINGER!" He screeched, loud enough for the crows circling them to fly off in a panic.

"Does that matter? What did you do this time!" Clara demanded, spoiling the Doctor's moment of tragedy.

"I have no idea..." The Doctor whispered in awe of his new looks, getting over the whole ginger thing. He got lost in his thoughts, leaving Clara to examine herself.

Suddenly a voice broke through the Doctor's thoughts. "Hey! Who do you think you are, wandering around on WindClan territory?" The owner of the voice padded into view, an all-tan tom slightly taller than the Doctor that had green eyes. Two other cats came up behind the tom, one was a brownish red she-cat with brown eyes, the other a grey tom with blue eyes.

The she-cat took a cautious step forward. The grey tom made a move to stop her, but she glared at him and he backed off. "What is your status? Rogue? Rival? Loner? Or perhaps-" she was cut off mid-sentence as the tan tom approached.

"Kittypets," he sneered at them, showing his teeth in the start of a growl.

"Kittypets? What's that supposed to mean?" Clara growled defensively, subconsciously unsheathing her claws. The Doctor shot a look at her that said "Listen to what they have to say, but without violence" but she ignored it.

"Clara," he whispered. "Back off. Now."

She reluctantly sheathed her claws, the fur on her back settling.

"You can tell by that little bow. Filthy twolegs!" The tan one spat.

_Little bow? _The Doctor thought. He realized his bow tie had somehow become a collar around his neck. _Oh, fantastic! I got to keep my bow tie! _

"Back off, Shadowmist," the she-cat said. "Give them a chance to explain, and if they have no reason, then you can chase them off."

Shadowmist lashed his tail once, then backed up, glaring at the she-cat. "Hmph. You're lucky, kittypets. If Sunleap hadn't been here, you'd have been ripped to shreds!"

Sunleap ignored the glare. "I take it you're kittypets. What is your reason for going over the scent markers?" The Doctor noticed she had a firm but gentle voice, the voice of a mother.

It was obvious that if the Doctor had told them how it really happened, there was little to no chance he would be believed. Maybe the she-cat would believe him. He knew he could trust her. "Well, first of all, I honesly have no idea what a kittypet is, and we're just travelers. Is it possible that you've stumbled across a large blue box?" He had to ask, because he was nothing without the TARDIS.

"Liars!" Shadowmist spat. "How else could you explain the bow? And you look too well-fed to be anything else!"

"Shadowmist! Remind me, who's the leader of this patrol? Me. Right. So BACK OFF," Sunleap snapped at Shadowmist, who unsheathed his claws. He leapt at Sunleap, who dodged easily. She pinned him down, anger in her eyes. The grey tom sat on in silence during this, as if he knew what Sunleap was capable of and was sure she didn't need help or was scared to interfere.

The Doctor started to protest about the violence, put Clara smacked a paw over his tail. _Ow! _He thought, shooting Clara a hurt look. She returned it with a look that said "You can do nothing about this" so he reluctantly sat down, watching on with his ears pinned against his head.

"Stonefall! Come hold this furball down while I do the talking," she called to the grey tom. He obviously wanted nothing to do with the violence and cautiously took a step towards the huge tan cat. "Come on, Stonefall! Any day now!" The she-cat snapped, causing Stonefall to skitter up and put his paws on Shadowmist's shoulders, one back paw on his stomach, to hold him down.

Sunleap padded up in front of the Doctor. "So, explain why you're here. And make it reasonable!"

**Another good way to end a chapter! Don't worry, I'll start on the next one immediately, as I really have nothing else to do. **


	3. Into the Clan

**Alright, time for Chapter 3! Enjoy!**

After a long time explaining who they were, including how they were both human (Well, the Doctor said human to cover up for his being a Time Lord) Sunleap invited them back to the camp. The Doctor just couldn't say no; he was intrigued by the Clan cats and their way of life. They followed Sunleap and her patrol back to the WindClan camp. The camp wasn't even really a camp, it was more like a dip in the ground where WindClan just slept out in the stars. Some dens were covered by bushes or rocks, most covered by brambles.

Sunleap had explained much about the cats' way of life as they made their way into camp, including how they are split into four Clans. This was confusing to the Doctor; who had always believed in peace.

"So, Sunleap. Tell me why you're split into four Clans. I mean, can't you just form together as one big Clan?" The Doctor asked sincerely, ears perked in interest.

"Well, the Warrior Code says there must always be four Clans. ThunderClan, ShadowClan, RiverClan, and us, WindClan. At one point there were five Clans, if you include SkyClan. They were forced to leave because of Twolegs expanding their territory.

"Besides, each Clan has things that only they can do. For instance, WindClan are runners. We're swift. ThunderClan are strong. ShadowClan are stalkers. RiverClan are swimmers. SkyClan were jumpers."

"Hmm. I see. Seems luck is on my side, because we somehow ended up in WindClan, and we're always running! Right, Clara?" He asked cheerfully, glancing at Clara.

"Yup." She confirmed. It was her turn to ask questions. "Why do you pick the names you do?" She asked Sunleap.

"It's all part of the Warrior Code. Our names are compound, reflecting our personalities or looks. My name is Sunleap because of the color of my fur."

"So, as soon as a kitten is born, are they given a permanent name?" Clara mewed.

"No, only the prefix is permanent. When I was a kit, my name was Sunkit. When I became an apprentice, I was Sunpaw. When you are a full warrior or medicine cat, the suffix that is chosen for you is permanent."

The Doctor was too interested in his own questions to allow Clara to ask any more. "So tell me, what are the ranks in your Clans?"

Sunleap was about to answer, but at this point they had reached what was apparently the leader's den. It was next to a boulder, and covered by brambles.

"Wait here." Sunleap instructed as she disappeared into the leader's den. The Doctor and Clara obeyed, sitting down where they were. Shadowmist got up to leave, but not after casting a glare full of hatred at the two time travelers. Stonefall came and sat at a distance from the Doctor and Clara. He seemed nervous and jumpy about everything.

As the Doctor expected, Stonefall jumped at least two feet in the air when he called the grey tom's name. "Hey Stonefall, would you mind answering our questions?" The Doctor asked, adding "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," when Stonefall casted him a frightened look.

"Oh no, I'm sorry. I'm just very jumpy. I'd be happy to answer your questions, though!" The grey tom said, padding closer and taking a seat next to the Doctor. "I presume you would like to know the ranks in our Clan?" He asked, and the Doctor noted that Stonefall was observant.

"Yes, that'd be useful information," the Doctor mewed. Stonefall shifted to face the Doctor and Clara.

"The highest ranking is the leader. The leader holds Clan meetings and decides when it is time for a kit to become an apprentice, and when an apprentice is ready to become a warrior. The leader also picks mentors for apprentices.

"The second highest ranking is the deputy, the one who organizes patrols. The leader also picks the deputy. After that is the medicine cat. Medicine cats don't fight, can't have mates and are away from all violence. They treat other Clans with respect as if they were friends, and-"

Just then, Sunleap emerged from the den, the cat who was supposedly the leader following her into the open. The leader was a light grey she-cat with darker grey spots along her flanks. The she-cat padded forward, standing face-to-face with the Doctor.

"I am Dripstar, leader of WindClan. My deputy states that you mysteriously appeared on the moor and you are apparently Twolegs. Tell me, is this information true?"

The Doctor knew someone of such importance must be acknowledged as so. He politely dipped his head, poking Clara with his tail to tell her to do the same. "Yes, that information is true."

Dripstar gave them a skeptical look, but relaxed when she decided these cats were not a threat. "So, what are your intentions? It seems you are trustworthy, even though former Twolegs." She paused at that comment, narrowing her eyes at the word "Twolegs".

Of course, the Doctor wanted to stay and learn as much as he could about the Clans, but he didn't want to annoy Clara by only speaking for himself. He turned to her. "Well? Should we stay or not? You're the boss."

She smirked. "We'd like to stay, if you'd have us," she said, turning to Dripstar and dipping her head.

Dripstar narrowed her eyes in thought. "It seems you have much potential, and WindClan is always in need of more warriors. You may stay. Now, I must gather the Clan for a meeting." With that, she turned and jumped up on the rock. "Let all cats old enough to sprint across the moor gather under Tallrock for a Clan meeting!" She yowled. The Doctor guessed Tallrock was the boulder Dripstar was perched upon.

Cats of different pelts and sizes emerged from the dens around the Doctor and Clara, each cat taking a seat under Tallrock. The Doctor was surprised that no cat even paid any attention to the two strange cats. Except for Shadowmist, who was giving them an icy stare.

"Thank you for joining me for a Clan meeting," Dripstar started. "We have two new cats today who are willing to join the Clan." She looked down at the Doctor and Clara, and the cats followed her gaze. "Come forward," she instructed, jumping down from the rock. "You will start out as apprentices so you can learn the way of the Clan." She paused, looking at the Doctor and Clara in turn. "Before you are assigned your warrior names, if you choose to have them, you must decide whether you will be a medicine cat or a warrior."

The Doctor remembered what Stonefall told him about medicine cats. Away from violence, treating other Clans as friends instead of rivals. The perfect spot for him. He glanced at Dripstar, waiting for her signal to speak. She dipped her head. "I choose to be a medicine cat." He stated.

"Very well, but let me remind you of the advantages and disadvantages of being a medicine cat," she started. "Medicine cats are away from violence and help to heal cats, whether they are from this Clan or not. But," she said, pausing to shoot a glance at Clara, "They are not allowed to have mates. Are you sure you pick the role of a medicine cat?"

_Hmph! This cat actually thinks me and Clara are together? She's only my companion! _He dismissed the thoughts with a sigh, assuming the leader can only know so much. "I am sure. I will devote myself to the role of the medicine cat."

"Very well. Now, do you choose to keep your name or wish to have a true Clan name?"

The Doctor wanted as much to do with the Clan as possible, so blending in would be a great start. "I would like to be assigned a true Clan name."

"Then from this point on, until you become a full medicine cat, you will be known as Runningpaw," Dripstar said, touching her nose to his forehead. _Runningpaw. The perfect name! _He thought to himself.

Dripstar turned to Clara. Clara dipped her head. "I would like to be a warrior," she stated.

"I can sense a warrior's spirit within you," Dripstar said. "Will you devote yourself to the role of a warrior? To hunt and fight for the Clan?"

As much as Clara would like to _not _be involved in violence and try to spend as much time as possible with the Doctor, er, Runningpaw, she figured the role of a warrior would be more exciting than making healing remedies. "Yes. I will devote myself to the role of a warrior."

"Very well. From now on, you will be known as Brightpaw, until you are a full warrior." She paused, as if to remember something. "And now I will assign your mentors. Shadedleaf, come forward," she called to a light brown she-cat with darker brown on her paws and chest, "Do you take Runningpaw as your new apprentice?"

Shadedleaf dipped her head. "I do. I promise to teach him all I know." As soon as the Doctor laid eyes on Shadedleaf, he knew he was in good hands- er, paws. She seemed calm and confident, the perfect mentor.

Dripstar turned to Clara and narrowed her eyes, thinking of who would be a good mentor for her. "Shadowmist, you have yet to get an apprentice. Will you accept Brightpaw as your apprentice?"

_Oh no, _Clara thought. _Why him! I'm doomed! _Shadowmist padded forward, a smirk on his face. "Oh yes, I accept her as my apprentice." He gave Clara an evil smile that only she seemed to see, with the exeption of the Doctor noticing it as well.

"Good. You may now all return to your duties. The Clan meeting is dismissed."

**Thank you to ScarkitTheMadaNeko for the review- of sorts. Anyways, weird way to end a chapter but I'm kinda running low on ideas here. If anyone has any, please be sure to let me know. My friend who was originally helping me lives pretty far away so she's not here to give me ideas unfortunately. **


	4. A Gathering and an Orb

**Forgive me if I use a warrior name that already exsists, 'cause I haven't read Warriors in a pretty long time. Besides that, enjoy chapter 4!**

"What's a Gathering?" Clara asked when Sunleap informed the two time travelers of a meeting known as such.

"A Gathering is when all of the Clans meet up on the Island to discuss the latest news, without hostility. We meet every full moon, and tonight there will be a full moon, so we are gathering our Clan. We will head out soon, if you're interested in coming," Sunleap mewed.

The Doctor didn't hesitate with an answer. "Of course! Fancy going along, Brightpaw?" He asked, turning to the light grey apprentice.

Clara didn't hesitate either. "Count me in!"

"Great. But you have to stay by your mentors when the Gathering starts," Sunleap said, turning to form a patrol. _Speaking of mentors, _the Doctor thought, _I should probably find mine... _He still wasn't used to a keener scent so he had some trouble distinguishing the medicine den from the others. When he had finally found it (after accidentally trodding on some of the warriors napping in the warriors' den) he strolled inside, where he found Shadedleaf presumably sorting herbs.

She noticed him before he got a chance to speak. "Hello, Runningpaw. Glad you came, I may need some help collecting more borage. Time for your first lesson; do you know what borage is used for?"

Of course, the Doctor knew almost everything. "For humans, borage can be used for gastrointestinal, respiratory and cardiovascular disorders. But seeing as you are felidae and _not _homosapien-" he stopped when he noticed the confused look on his mentor's face. "Yeah, I'll just go find some borage..."

**-Meanwhile-**

"No, mouse-brain! I told you, avoid twigs and dry leaves! By the time you scent a mouse upwind of you it would be gone!"

Clara was trying her best, trying to master the crouch-and-stalk movement. It was hard to do that when you had a sour-pelt of a cat screeching at you for every mistake, not to mention the training ground was in an extremely small dip in the ground.

"Why did I get stuck with the flea-brain kittypet?" Shadowmist muttered to himself.

"You could have declined the offer," Clara hissed at him. At this point, Clara had the idea in her head that when Shadowmist had shown her good battle techniques, _he _would be target practice. _He _would be the unfortunate plump mouse that would feed the apprentice. Which means, _he _will be the cause of his downfall. While Clara was brainstorming ways to torture her mentor, Shadowmist was fuming at her words.

"One does not decline offers made by the leader!" He snapped at her. _True enough._ _I mean, who _wouldn't _accept an offer made from the highest ranking?_ Clara thought. She tried to think of a witty comeback, but Shadowmist had won this battle. As much as she regretted giving up the argument, she dipped her head in shame and embarrasment.

"Hmph," Shadowmist growled, satisfied he had won the argument. "Now, try again, and I swear if you make one more mistake I'll leave you to the buzzards!"

_Okay okay, sheesh, sour-pelt!_

**-Meanwhile (Again)-**

"I fowmd youm thmm boramge," the Doctor said, his voice muffled by the herb as he padded into Shadedleaf's den.

"Oh, thank you!" She _mrrow_ed with amusement. "Last night I had a dream that all the cats were sick and only borage could heal them, and we were out!"

"Well, I guess you won't have to worry anymore," the Doctor said. "The Doctor, here to help! Oh wait, my name was changed, wasn't it? I _really _need to work on that," the Doctor said, earning an amused look from Shadedleaf.

"You really are something, Runningpaw," she said, turning to her herbs. The Doctor didn't hear her, for he was musing about the past.

"Ya know, maybe when I get my warrior name it could be my backup name... In case I end up killing an important, innocent alien, like I almost did with that Star Whale..." His thoughts were interrupted by a yowl from Dripstar.

"Let all cats old enough to sprint across the moor gather under Tallrock for a Clan meeting!"

The Doctor followed Shadedleaf as she padded out from the den. He took a seat next to his mentor, Clara and Stonefall came to take a seat by him. Clara looked exhausted. He shuffled closer to her so she could lean against his shoulder. He had probably just saved her from public humiliation, as she was nearly about to nod off to sleep.

"Th...Thanks..." she said, stifling a yawn.

"As you know, tonight is the Gathering. We must gather our Clan so we can set out." She looked to her deputy. "Sunleap, prepare the cats who can go and pick the ones who will stay."

Sunleap dipped her head. "Of course."

Dripstar awknowledged her deputy with a small dip of her head. "Thank you. We will set out when the sun drowns, giving us enough time to be there by moon-high." The Doctor turned to see the sun, which seemed halfway submerged in the dark water of the lake. That gave them only a few minutes before the sun was completely submerged in the lake. When he started to turn his head, out of the corner of his eye, something flashed. He jerked his head back, catching a glimpse of a small silver orb falling from the sky towards...

_The Island!_

Oh no. If those orbs were a cause of something bad, the cats would be right in the center of it.

"Everything okay, Runningpaw?" Shadedleaf's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Yeah... Fine! Everything's fine. Sorry, just nerves!" He turned his head back to Tallrock, but he couldn't rid his mind of the silver orbs. What were they? He had an idea of what they could be, but it wasn't good...

**Annnnnnd the end of chapter 4. Hope you enjoyed! **


	5. The Shadow in the Woods

**We're at chapter 5 already?! Wow, I can't believe I got so far this quickly! Thank you to all who reviewed, without you guys there probably wouldn't be a chapter 5! So, please enjoy this chapter! **

The Doctor sat in silence, looking on as Sunleap formed two groups; one for the cats who were staying, the other for the cats who were going. Clara had fallen asleep against his shoulder, and he really had no intention of moving while he thought about what he had seen.

"Runningpaw! Brightpaw! Are you two coming?" Sunleap called, breaking the Doctor's concentration and causing him to snap back to reality. Clara jerked awake at Sunleap's call.

Clara yawned. "What? Oh, yeah, I'm co...coming..." She said, nodding off.

"Oi! Wake up!" The Doctor said, harsh but gentle at the same time. She instantly jerked awake again. "We're going to the Gathering," he told her.

"The Gath- Oh. Oh, right! Of course! Sorry for nodding off like that, I had some rough training today," she said, stifling a yawn.

The Doctor grinned (if cats can even do that?) "Yes, I bet you did."

She shot him a look. "He's worse than he lets on. How's _your_ mentor?"

"Brilliant, the kind of cat you'd like. But you decided to be a warrior," he mocked. Clara was about to respond, but paused when she noticed a cat with a blondish pelt run up to the deputy. The color of the new cat's fur looked sort of familiar to the Doctor, and he found himself squinting at the she-cat to try to recognize where he had seen the color.

"Oi! We're leaving soon, Mr. Furball!" Clara said, waving a paw in front of his face to get his attention. When he had not responded to that, she gave up and followed his gaze. "She looks familiar. I know! What was her name? River Song?"

As soon as Clara said "River" it clicked in the Doctor's mind. He jumped at the mention of her name, his fur rising on his back.

"Isn't she... Ya know..." Clara started.

The Doctor finished for her. "Dead? Yes. Yes, she's... dead." He shook himself, the fur settling. _It couldn't possibly be her. My wife? A cat? No, not possible. _He turned, catching sight of Sunleap. _Her fur, too! Could it be? It's too much of a coincidence! It's NOT POSSIBLE. Yet again, nothing is impossible..._

"Alright, cats! Single file line after me. Stay behind me and in front of Sunleap," Dripstar called, interrupting the Doctor's thoughts. The Doctor noticed the blond she-cat march off, a sour look on her face. Must be she had to stay behind. She caught the Doctor staring at her and glared at him. Her eyes were hazel. _The same color eyes, too? Oh no... _The worst part? She gave him a mischevious smile that said the line he had dreaded (but also loved, strange how these things work out) for his entire life as the 11th.

_Hello, sweetie._

"Let's go," Clara said, padding up to get in line. She turned to see if the Doctor was following, and stopped when she realized he was not. "Doctor? Er, Runningpaw? Hey! Wake up!" So she did the thing most sensible people (well, cats in this case) would do; she bit him on the tail. Hard.

"Yow!" He exclaimed, yanking his tail from her vice-like jaws. "What did you do that for? That _really_ _hurt!_"

Clara spat out some of his fur. "Blech. You looked dead as a doornail for a second there. Kinda got worried about ya. You alright?"

"Yes. Yes, I am fine." He turned to look at his tail, which now had missing patches of fur. "Eh, it'll grow back. Come on, then! Let's not keep these cats waiting!" And with that, he strutted off like nothing had happened.

_Okay..._ Clara thought to herself. She ran to catch up with the Doctor. The Doctor chose to be in the back of the long line of cats, the first in front of Sunleap.

The Doctor and Clara were mostly silent on the way there, apart from the few comments passed between the two and Sunleap. Clara tried to start some conversations to break the eerily quiet night, but to no avail as the Doctor did not show any signs of joining in.

Their walk wasn't a long one, but with the quiet blackness of the night it seemed to take forever. The island was much bigger than the Doctor had imagined; it was small enough to be considered an island, but to the cats' point of view it was merely a small forest. They came across a large fallen tree, a bridge to the island.

"It was a miracle that this tree fell in this exact way," Sunleap said, startling the Doctor and Clara since she had been quiet most of the way.

"How so?" The Doctor asked quietly, though intent on hearing more of the Clan's history.

Sunleap waited patiently for the Doctor and Clara to hop up on the log, neither of them adapted to a cat's balance, causing them to wobble a bit. "Well, there was once a warrior named Mudclaw, once a deputy of our Clan. Many, many moons ago, before the elders of our Clan were kits, the leader Tallstar lay dying. He announced on his deathbed that the warrior Onewhisker was to be the leader, not Mudclaw. Mudclaw was furious and flew into a rage, causing a-" just then, a piece of rotting bark the Doctor had stepped on broke off and sent the light brown cat into the marshes below with a splash. As he struggled to get up, a wet mass of fur, Clara couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"How's the weather down there?" She taunted playfully, leaning over the log to peer down at him. Sunleap _mrrrow_ed in laughter.

A wet and not so amused Doctor looked up at her and gave her a mischevious smile. "It's quite fine, why don't you come and _join me!_" The Doctor said, leaping up and wrapping his paws around her neck, using gravity as an anchor to pull them down.

"Ahh!" She exclaimed as she slipped off the log.

"Alright, you two. You've had your fun. Let's not have you get in trouble with Dripstar," Sunleap said.

As if on cue, Dripstar's voice reached the three cats' ears. "Is there a problem back there?"

Sunleap responded with a slight laugh. "Everything's fine... Ish. Some cats just slipped off of the log, that's it. They're fine and ready to get moving again," she said the last bit with teeth clenched, staring at the two drenched cats. They got the hint.

"That was not big on dignity," the Doctor commented when they were safely across the log. "But it definitely wasn't as bad as the Star Whale..."

"The Star Whale?" Clara repeated, cocking her head.

"That's a story saved for later," the Doctor responded. He looked at Sunleap. "Please, do not let my undignified bath discontinue your story."

She _mrrrow_ed with laughter. "Of course not. Where was I again? Ah, right. So Mudclaw caused sort of a battle, and StarClan made their decision clear of his fate. They struck that tree with lightning, causing it to fall and kill Mudclaw, also giving the cats a bridge to the Island."

"Interesting," the Doctor said. He wished he had his sonic screwdriver so he could dramatically flick it for effects. By this time they had squeezed through the foliage and entered the middle of the Island, where a giant pine tree stood tall and straight.

"Are we the first ones here?" The Doctor asked, jumping up on a rock and taking in the surroundings. It was a large clearing, the giant pine's needles sheltering any underneath it from the rain and the bushes and small trees around the clearing created a wind proof barrier.

"It seems so. We're normally the first ones here, since we're so close to the Island and just because we're WindClan," said Sunleap. "RiverClan is normally second or first. We kind of have a competition going."

"Wait," the Doctor said, noticing a shadow in the brush. "There's someone there,"

"Really? Where?" Clara asked as she jumped up to join him on the rock. In the second that the Doctor turned to make sure she didn't crash into him, the shadow had disappeared.

"Runningpaw," she said, remembering his apprentice name, "There's no one there."

He squinted into the bushes, his eyes searching for the shadow. They came up with nothing. "So there isn't. My bad, it seems a cat's vision isn't liking me right now."

* * *

The cat ran off through the woods, slowing only when it had reached the road. As the cat padded across, a car came zooming down. But before the car could either stop or hit the cat, a laser beam zapped it and sent it rolling off of the road, the inside bursting into flame. The cat just twitched its ears, as if it expected as much to happen. _There-are-no-survivors! _It thought to itself, satisfied.

"What-have-you-learned?" A robotic voice asked when the cat had safely crossed the road.

"My-sensors-detected-the-life-form-that-could-only-be-the-Doctor!" It responded in the same robotic voice.

"Our-mission-is-to-exterminate-the-Doctor! Exterminate-all-associates!"

"EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!" Suddenly the whole forest was lit up with the hundreds of blinking lights of the Daleks as they spoke the one word that meant certain death to any it was aimed to.


	6. The Truce is Broken

**Woohoo! Chapter 6! Don't be surprised if this chapter is posted really early because a quarter of it was cut off from chapter 5. Enjoy!**

"Fox-dung!" A new voice yowled, and the Doctor turned his head to see a new group of cats enter the clearing. "So you've beat us again, eh, Dripstar?" The owner of the voice padded up to the WindClan leader. The cat was a silver tom with light blue eyes and dark grey on his chest, his left front paw, and on the tip of his tail.

Dripstar chuckled. "One does not win easily when they're against WindClan, Pebblestar." She had an amused look on her face.

"Heh, apparently not. Don't get too comfortable, though! We'll beat you eventually," Pebblestar said good-naturedly.

Sunleap joined the Doctor and Clara up on the rock. "WindClan and RiverClan have been close allies ever since Pebblestar became leader," she said, taking a seat next to the Doctor.

"They seem pretty close," the Doctor agreed. He felt another Clan history story coming on.

"We were attacked by a pack of wolves. Many cats died that night, but it would have been worse had it not been for Pebblestar and his warriors. It was a full moon, and we had just left our camp for the Gathering. Then the wolves showed up, and RiverClan was the only Clan to come to our aid. Though I'm sure ThunderClan considered it, being the noble Clan they are."

The Doctor huffed in amusement. Sunleap gave him a confused look.

"What?"

He chuckled. "I have seen many things, but seeing someone who isn't hostile towards the one who aided them without their permission is rare. You'd think Dripstar wouldn't talk to the poor cat for helping her."

"And you have a problem with that?"

He looked at her, surprised. "No, absolutely not! It's nice to know there are still good people in this world, repaying debts instead of being hostile. It gives me hope of the future." He paused for a second, recollecting past adventures in the future. "Yet again, in the places I've visited in the future, most of the people were really nice. _Most_ of them."

"And they beat us again. _There's _a surprise," a black cat with one white back paw said sarcastically as she and her warriors entered the clearing. Dripstar and Pebblestar paused in their conversation to acknowledge the she-cat.

"Hello, Whitestar. Beautiful night, isn't it?" Pebblestar asked.

Whitestar licked a paw, then looked up through the pine needles to take a glimpse of the moon. It was indeed a beautiful night, no clouds in the sky and the stars shining bright. "Indeed, it is," she started, then saw Dripstar. She flattened her ears. "Well if it isn't little Dripstar, the wolf whisperer," she taunted.

Dripstar looked away, ears flattened in shame. She didn't want to start a fight during a full moon. Pebblestar stepped in front of the light grey cat defensively. "Stop it," he growled.

The ShadowClan leader looked surprised for a moment, not expecting the RiverClan leader to defend. She quickly regained her wits. "You've got nothing to do with this," she spat at him.

"I have everything to do with this! Let me remind you that I was the one who helped WindClan, not you," he hissed, the fur rising along his back.

Whitestar paused, then put a shocked look on her face. "Oh, I get it, you _traitor_! Traitor to the Warrior Code! How could you betray us like that?" She cringed as if he was some sort of monster about to gobble her up.

Pebblestar looked at her, confused. "What are you rambling about? I have done nothing against the laws of the Warrior Code!"

Whitestar lashed her tail, crouching down and glaring at the silver leader. "We all know cats from other Clans cannot be mates," she hissed. By this time, many of the warriors from the other Clans had gathered in a circle around them. When Whitestar made that comment, they all gasped in shock.

_This doesn't look good, _the Doctor thought.

Pebblestar and Dripstar both were startled by this new lie. "We are _not _mates!" Dripstar hissed.

Whitestar lashed her tail again, showing her teeth in a growl. "Liars!" She spat, leaping at Pebblestar. Suddenly, the moonlight disappeared and was replaced by a dark shadow. All of the cats looked up in shock. A giant cloud had covered the moon, and thunder could be heard in the distance.

"StarClan is angry!" A dark brown cat said fearfully, looking up at the cloud with their ears pinned against their head.

"What's going on?" A small, orangeish she-cat said as she entered the clearing with her startled warriors. Must be ThunderClan had finally made it. The cat got no reply, as most of the cats in the clearing were panicking. Whitestar had Pebblestar on the ground, holding him down and snarling a million insults in his face.

"Can't you see... StarClan... is angry? Get off! We have to restore... the peace!" Pebblestar stuttered under the hostile ShadowClan leader.

"Is this how Gatherings normally go?" Clara asked a frightened Stonefall.

"This is _really _bad! We have to get them to stop!" He yowled over the sounds of cats panicking and thunder growling.

"I'll take that as a no," Clara said. Dripstar rammed into Whitestar in an attempt to get the bigger, more sturdy cat off of Pebblestar. Whitestar crashed into the ground with an angry grunt.

The Doctor jumped into action, racing across the clearing, dodging frightened cats. He skidded to a halt before the three leaders. "Whitestar, you have to stop this!" He yowled, stepping in to block the WindClan and RiverClan leaders from the hostile ShadowClan leader. But Whitestar had already started to fling herself at Dripstar. She ended up crashing into the Doctor, sending him sprawling across the clearing. He landed hard, knocked unconscious for a few seconds.

"Doctor!" Clara yowled. She raced over to him. "Oh my stars, are you alright?!" The Doctor sat up, a little wobbly.

"I... I think I'm okay," he said, standing up and checking all of his limbs. "Should be fine, but now's not the time to worry about me. We have to get Whitestar away from Dripstar and Pebblestar before it's too late!" As soon as he finished his sentence, it started downpouring. The ThunderClan leader gathered her warriors and left immediately, not wanting anything to do with the Island on a night like that one.

"Whitestar, stop! StarClan is angry, who knows what they'll do now that you've broken the truce!" Dripstar pleaded with Whitestar, who had her pinned against the giant pine tree.

"_I've _broken the truce?! This was your doing, you traitor!" Whitestar spat at her, a wild look in her eyes. All of the other cats had fled the clearing, but just when Whitestar went to make the killing bite, Sunleap appeared out of nowhere. Shadedleaf was also there, quickly spotting the Doctor and running over to him. Sunleap pushed Whitestar off of Dripstar and was trying to pin her down.

"Runningpaw! We have to get Pebblestar back to his camp, he's dying! Fetch me some cobwebs to slow the bleeding!" Shadedleaf shouted over the rain and thunder.

"Come on, Clara! We have to find some cobwebs!" The Doctor shouted to his companion.

"I saw some when we entered! Come on!" She responded, running towards the spot they had entered from. They swiped their paws through the webs, running as best they could on three legs to where Pebblestar lay. They delivered the webs to Shadedleaf, who was about to thank them but was interrupted by a yowl from Sunleap.

"Help! I'm outnumbered!" She screeched.

The Doctor and Clara both looked at Shadedleaf. "Go help her!" The medicine cat yelled to them. They nodded and raced off to help Sunleap.

As much as he hated to fight, the Doctor had no choice. Be ripped to shreds or fight to keep your friends alive. It was obvious Whitestar would not see reason. He stopped short when he saw what was really happening: Shadowmist had joined the fight, but was fighting against Sunleap rather than with her. The Doctor and Clara leapt into the fight after the surprise wore off.

"Shadowmist, what are you doing?!" The Doctor yowled at the tan cat.

"Fighting for my Clan!" He snapped. But that would mean that Shadowmist was a traitor... A spy sent in by ShadowClan. But then the Doctor guessed something different. The prefix of Shadowmist's name: Shadow. Also matching the prefix of ShadowClan. Clan cats wouldn't use the same prefix of a Clan, would they? Which meant that Shadowmist must have been from somewhere else but preferred to keep his name. The Doctor didn't have time to think any more about it because Shadowmist jumped on him, the two rolling in the muddy wet grass.

Shadowmist lashed out at the Doctor's face, leaving four stinging claw marks on his cheek. Clara then bowled into Shadowmist, knocking him over. She ducked under a swipe and head-butted his chin, knocking him backwards into a thorn bush. He grunted as the thorns dug into his pelt. Clara was viciously attacking him, clawing his exposed belly. He turned tail and fled into the darkness of the foliage, blood seeping from his wounds.

**Wow I finished this in a day! It was like one idea after the next in this chapter, really speeding things up. Also, thinking of pairing Dripstar and Pebblestar. What do you guys think? Should I go through with that? Anyway, hope you enjoyed!**


	7. A Friendly Enemy?

"Help me pick him up," Shadedleaf said as she struggled to lift Pebblestar's body. He wasn't dead, but he was dying. If he could receive help immediately he could be saved. "RiverClan's camp is closest, so we're going there."

Sunleap had managed to chase Whitestar off, probably due to the fact that lightning had struck a branch on the pine tree and sent it crashing down on the ShadowClan leader. She had escaped with nothing more than an injured paw. Sunleap volunteered to help, but Dripstar sent her off to check to make sure all of her cats had made it safely back to the WindClan camp.

The Doctor's cheek still burned from the clawing he had received from Shadowmist. Clara offered to get some cobwebs, but he refused in the fact that they had to help Pebblestar. Since the fighting was over, the rain had stopped, but the cloud had expanded over the lake. It blotted out the moon and the stars, and showed no signs of passing over.

"We're going to have to cross through the marshes," Shadedleaf said. "So be prepared to get wet."

"We'll be fine," Dripstar said. "We're already soaking wet anyway." If she was saddened in the least bit by the surprise of where her former warrior Shadowmist's loyalties truly lied, she showed no sign of it.

"I was already soaking wet to begin with," the Doctor muttered.

Clara casted a glance at him. "So was I," she said, then focused on keeping Pebblestar's body out of the weeds and the mud.

They trudged on through the marshes slowly, due to the fact that the mud now came up a couple inches above their paws.

Finally, after a long ten minutes of walking through mud, they arrived on solid ground. "I believe we're inside their border now," Shadedleaf mewed.

The cats were about to acknowledge her, but they were interrupted as a rustle was heard in the bushes. The cats tensed, lowering their ears. Suddenly, a dog stepped out of the bushes. It was tan and had black patches on its ears and down its back. The cats immediately made to flee, but that would mean leaving Pebblestar to die. Instead they dropped the RiverClan leader as gently but quickly as they could and formed a protective circle around him. The dog growled and eyed the cats warily.

"Sharpclaws," it growled.

_Sharpclaws? Is that what dogs refer to us as? _The Doctor thought, perking his ears up.

"I mean no harm to you, unless you decide to attack me. I'm looking for my Pack," the dog said, laying down submissively. "Perhaps you have seen dogs come through this way?"

Dripstar and the other cats relaxed slowly, but still eyed the dog as if it would attack at any moment. "No, unless your Pack happens to be of vicious wolves," Dripstar mewed.

"Vicious wolves? We only had one that was in our Pack. Our Alpha. He was only half wolf though," the dog said, also relaxing. Suddenly, the dog's facial expression changed and it appeared to be sad. "He fell off the cliff, like me. I don't think he survived." The female dog's face twisted in anger. "He was never really a leader to us anyway. The only thing he did was eat all our food and order us around." She stood up and shook herself.

"Well... Thanks for your assistance, sharpclaws..." She trailed off as she noticed Pebblestar's broken body. "Who's that?" She started to take a step toward him, and in that moment the Doctor realized that she was favoring her left paw. She winced as she put it down.

"Someone... important. He won't survive if we continue this conversation," Clara mewed as politely as possible, even in a situation that was grave.

"Of course." The dog dipped her head. "Can I be of assistance, as you were of me?" The dog tilted its head, and the Doctor believed it to be a sincere question. The cats looked at her suspiciously, but they all seemed to realize the dog wasn't going to make it if she decided to take off with Pebblestar.

They let the tan and black dog pick Pebblestar up gently by the scruff. "Now, lead me to where we need to go. I have longer legs, so I may go a little faster than you."

The cats nodded and continued forward. The Doctor could tell that everyone else was skeptical, as it _was _a dog, and the fact that she hadn't introduced herself. _Well, neither have we, _he thought to himself. He had no idea how big of a threat a dog could pose to a Clan cat, but he was grateful that his company accepted the help of a known enemy.

They walked in silence, too nervous to make conversation while a dog was trotting ahead of them, even if the tan and black dog was friendly. The Doctor ran to catch up with the dog, happy that he seemed to be adapting to a cat's stamina. The dog winced every time she set her left paw down, but remained with a steady pace.

"You're hurt," the Doctor said, finally mustering enough courage to speak to the dog. Not that he was afraid; it was just that the dog was a whole lot bigger than him and he wasn't exactly used to dogs being bigger than himself.

The dog simply flicked an ear at him, as she could not speak while carrying a cat. Clara ran up behind the two, quickening her pace to fall in step with the Doctor. "I grabbed you some cobwebs," Clara mewed, and the Doctor noticed that she indeed had found some, as they were plastered all over her face.

He managed a chuckle. "I see that. Now how am I supposed to get those on me when they're stuck all over your face?" He teased.

"Well, the only possible way, of course," Clara said. She trotted closer to the Doctor and rubbed her cheek over his, which managed to cover up the scratches but also make him look like he had decided to take a stroll through an abandoned attic. He gave her a look of surprise, and her eyes betrayed a smile of amusement.

"Uh, thank you," he managed. He was slightly disappointed that it was Clara taking care of him, not the other way around. After all, his name _was _the Doctor, so therefore _he_ should be taking care of _her._ He quickly got over the shock and added, "That's my Clara."

Clara seemed to brighten slightly, and she whispered, "My Doctor." Suddenly, Dripstar appeared behind them and told them that the RiverClan camp was just up ahead. Before they knew it, pebbles littered the ground and they had padded up to a small stream. The Doctor immediately noticed the dens, and he also noticed the lack of residents in them. Shadedleaf made a beeline to what the Doctor assumed was the medicine den, disappearing inside some reeds and appearing with herbs that the Doctor recognized: chervil root and leaves from the nettle plant. He wasn't quite sure what the nettle was used for, but he imagined the chervil root was to be used for infection.

Shadedleaf quickly applied the poultice of the chervil and applied it to Pebblestar's scratches. She also gave him some juniper berries, for making Pebblestar sleep, the Doctor guessed. "Is there anything I can do?" The Doctor asked, padding up to Shadedleaf.

She sniffed her patient over, then looked up at her apprentice. "I don't think there's anything else I can do for him at the moment," she said. She was about to say something else, but Dripstar walked up to the two and they paused in their conversation to acknowledge their leader with a dip of their heads.

Dripstar glanced at the Doctor, looking over him, as if she was contemplating what she should send him off to do. She twitched an ear at the dog, who was sitting quietly by the bank of the stream, licking her wounded paw. "Runningpaw, take Brightpaw and the dog with you to see if you can gather RiverClan and bring them here. I want you to keep a close eye on the dog, see if she can be trusted. That is all. Thank you." The leader sniffed Pebblestar, a worried look in her eyes. He could hear his mentor and his leader engage in a quiet conversation as he turned to look for his companion.

He spotted her sniffing around one of the dens and hurried over to her. She looked up, seeming to brighten as she caught sight of him. "Ah, Doc- er, Runningpaw," she said happily, then her expression changed to serious. "I'm guessing we're being sent to find RiverClan?"

He gave her a surprised look, earning an amused glance from the grey and white she-cat. "You do realize that we're kind of the only ones available to do it, right? Dripstar's probably too worried about Pebblestar to leave and Shadedleaf has to tend to him, so that leaves us." She paused, then added, "And the dog."

The Doctor flicked an ear. "Dripstar told me to bring her with us. Keep a close eye on her, to see if she can be trusted." He looked over at the dog, who rested her head on her paws and exhaled sharply. "I really don't see what the fuss is about. She seems like a lovely dog," he added. Next to him, Clara nodded.

"Well, come on then, let's not waste any time," she said, trotting over to the dog. The dog lifted its head as Clara approached it. Clara gave the dog a cheery "Hello!" and started explaining that they were to be sent to find RiverClan.

The dog stood and stretched, looking intimidating to the Doctor and Clara. "I suppose I won't be of much use to the Pack with this paw," she said with a sigh. "Got nothing better to do. Maybe I can go find my litter-brother," she added, a hopeful expression making its way to her face.

After some small talk, the small group decided to go past the stream. Which meant they had to cross it. The water was a little too deep for their liking, so they traveled upstream a little bit until they found a log in which they could walk across. It was about the width of the dog, so there wouldn't be any trouble for the cats. The dog had already crossed before, and the water had gone up to about her elbow. The stream was at least three times the dog's length, which meant it was a _No Way _for the Doctor and Clara.

With the dog traveling on the other side of the stream, they picked their way through the woods until they found the log. The Doctor let Clara go first, and they slowly walked across the log.

And then it happened.

**Yes, MAJOR cliffhanger. So sorry, but I just had to end it there. I am deeply sorry for the wait on this chapter; the past few weeks have been awfully stressful. For one, we had to get rid of our cat, and another, I dropped my iPhone in the pool... (on the same cursed day) and with school starting now it's just been completely and utterly awful. (I hate being a freshman.) At least all of my teachers are pretty awesome, though. Especially my ELA - she looks so much like Clara I thought I was going to faint. Anyways, sincere apologies for the horrible wait you all had to endure. :(. Now endure this cliffhanger! Mwahahaha! (Don't worry, next chapter should be up by Saturday, if not much, much sooner. Promise.)**


	8. The Trap

Before she knew it, Clara's heart rate sped up. Before she knew it, Clara could hear a yelp of surprise. Before she knew it, the log had split in half. Before she knew it, she was on the other side of the stream. Before she knew it, she could see the Doctor's head bobbing up and down as he struggled to stay afloat in the deep water of the stream, which now seemed like a river.

And before she knew it, she was in the river after him.

She could hear the dog yelping in the distance as the current swept her downstream at an alarming rate after the Doctor. Up ahead, the water got deeper, and the Doctor couldn't stay afloat any longer. Clara gasped, and instead of trying to find a foothold, she allowed herself to be swept down faster to where she had last seen the Doctor. She sucked in her breath and swam under, but the water stung her eyes. She had lasted about two seconds when she was hastily pulled to the surface and flung to the bank of the river, where she coughed up some water.

She quickly recovered and turned to the river in horror, screaming the Doctor's name. As she started to let out the first strangled cry, she saw that the dog had jumped in to the river. The fast-flowing water was up to the dog's chest, and she was barely managing to stay put as she dunked her head under to find the Doctor. Clara's heart felt like it was about to explode after three horrifingly long seconds that the dog had had her head underwater. She nearly fainted when the dog's back paw slipped and she stumbled forward. But the dog quickly regained her footing and reached down deep into the river, plucking out the Doctor and sending him crashing to the shore in one swift motion.

"Doctor!" Clara shrieked, nearly tripping over her own paws to get to him. In her haste, she forgot entirely about the dog and if she was managing to get out of the river. She stood over his limp body, fear of him being dead rising in her chest. If cats could shed tears, she would practically be standing in a puddle. She barely noticed the dog come up behind her, give her a reassuring lick over the ears as if to say, "It'll be alright."

Clara silently suggested CPR to herself, but realized it'd be quite impossible when the victim was a cat, as well as she herself being one too.

_He's dead._

The thought lingered in her mind, her attempts to get rid of it being completely ignored. The man she traveled with, the one who made her laugh when she cried, and possibly even... the one she loved. And he was dead.

_No, I can't think like this, _she thought. The only thing stronger than fear: hope. But her hope was hanging by a thread. And that thread was about to break when suddenly, the Doctor started coughing. It was a sort of coughing that sounded like he was drowning in blood, the kind of coughing that scared her.

But it was the Doctor's cough. And that was definitely good enough for her. It didn't scare her like his near lifeless body did, and she was okay with that. Actually, she _wasn't _okay with that. The only way she'd be okay with it is if he stood up right then and hugged her like nothing happened, but she knew he couldn't.

She rested a paw on his flank as his coughing fit started to subside. "Doctor?" She asked, ears perked. "You okay?"

He turned his head so he could see Clara, his green eyes focusing on her like she was the path out of his darkness.

He blinked, then said, "Why... why do these things always happen to me?"

Clara laughed, sensing the humor in his voice. "Oh, Doctor. I'm so glad you're alright. No more streams, though!"

"No more streams," he repeated with a slight laugh. "Or rather, rivers. I think this is a river. I hope it is, because drowning in a stream doesn't sound like a very dignifying death to me." He shivered a little, and Clara took that as a hint. She curled up next to him, attempting to warm him up. Clara had completely forgotten about the dog as she flopped down and curled her body around theirs, the Doctor squished between them. They were all wet and miserable, but the Doctor didn't mind the dampness of the bodies pressed around him. They made him feel warmer, perhaps more mentally than physically.

He felt Clara shift and nearly flinched as something touched his fur. It was rough, but a comforting kind of rough. He looked up to see Clara grooming him, as if one stroke of her tongue could make him warm again.

And it did. Physically, no, but mentally. He started to protest, for his dignity's sake, but just as he was about to say something, his body erupted into another coughing fit. It was worse than before, and Clara immediately stopped in her grooming, looking at him worriedly. He rose, and his reflexes immediately took charge as bile rose to his throat. He hacked some of it up, leaving a rather put-off Clara behind him. But she walked up behind him, and as he turned she recoiled as if he was about to vomit all over her.

The Doctor sighed. "It's really awful that you have to see me like this," he said. "I'm sorry."

She immediately recovered and leaned forward to affectionately lick his cheek, and his eyes widened a little in surprise. "No, it's fine. Really, it's fine. It's just that I've never really seen you sick before," she assured him. "Come on, let's rest a little and get warmed up." She gently led him back to their temporary nest/bed/whatever it was that they were napping on and he curled up in between the dog and Clara. She resided to grooming him again, but this time he didn't even try to protest. Soon she was rewarded with the slow, gentle sound of his breathing as he fell asleep.

After some time, Clara began to feel sleepy as well. The "awake" part of her brain was currently losing against the "sleep" part, and she fought to stay awake, to finish her job of grooming the Doctor, but eventually she gave in and her chin fell onto the Doctor's flank.

That night she had a dream. Or rather, a nightmare. She was standing on sand, squinting into the sun, her eyes fixed on the horizon over an ocean. Wait, no... a lake. _The _lake. She heard a voice high above her, and turned to see a cliff. She looked up to the top. The Doctor stood alone, it seemed, at the top. His eyes were fixed on the horizon as hers had been.

She turned back to the ocean. What she saw, however, set her fur on end. She let out a gasp as a silver orb flashed through the sky, appearing to be falling from the cloudy afternoon sky above. Before it hit the water, it suddenly changed course, zooming across the surface of the water and causing it to leave a trail of bubbles behind it. Whatever it was, it was moving fast, and it was moving at her. She tried to flee, but her legs were suddenly stuck in mud and she couldn't lift a paw.

The orb stopped a paw-step in front of her, its abrupt stop causing her to recoil as the dust flew up around her. She found herself staring at it, a perfect silver orb silhouetted by the sun. She heard a groaning noise, and the orb started to take another shape. Soon she was staring at a bronze-colored machine, but before she could make out the details, everything disappeared. It was replaced by the sound of a river gurgling, and the soft breathing of the Doctor and the dog.

She sighed in relief as she realized it was just a dream. She stood and gave herself a quick shake, padding over to the river to grab a drink. Once her thirst was quenched, she took a look around. It was still day, probably a little in the afternoon as she noticed the sky had a tint of orange combined with its usual blue.

She padded back over to the Doctor and nudged him with a paw. He slowly blinked open an eye. "Clara," he murmured. "Did it... did it hurt you?" He asked slowly. Clara blinked in confusion, not knowing what he was talking about.

"Did what hurt me?" she asked, cocking her head. The Doctor's eyes opened abruptly, as if he had been daydreaming and something snapped him back awake.

He shook his head. "No, no... I don't... never mind." He sighed. "I just... I had a weird dream, that's all."

Clara thought back to her nightmarish dream. Was it possible that the Doctor in her dream was actually the real Doctor and had shared the dream with her? She quickly shook herself to get rid of the thought. It was technically impossible, right? Well, it _was _the Doctor...and she had no idea how far his alien powers really went.

You know, Clara," he suddenly whispered, causing Clara to snap back to reality. "The TARDIS normally only leaves when there's danger, and that danger-"

"Has to be pretty bad if the TARDIS leaves us behind," Clara finished. "But why would the TARDIS take us here and then leave? Unless..." She trailed off, thinking of her next words. The Doctor beat her to it.

"Unless she was shoved into this universe, but then was shoved out. I think someone wants us here." He paused. "I think it's a trap."

**Sorry I took so long! My computer had to be "borrowed" and I couldn't work on this for a couple days. Real sorry. I'm trying not to rush because if I rush then it comes out all weird... I'll try to make some better work if this chapter's a little too weird for ya. **


End file.
